It is disappointing—yet painfully unsurprising—that precarious employment has slipped into our everyday reality, shaping our workplaces in ways we can no longer ignore.
Some people spend their entire lives trying to prove they deserve a seat at the table. Plenty of job order employees are proving it, yet the system does not always give them one. For some employees in Central Mindanao University (CMU), this is their reality. Over time, they saw generations of students come and go and watched the university evolve. They quietly kept things running, and their work became a backbone for much of the university’s daily operations.
But while CMU grew, some of the statuses of job order workers remained the same: years of service and still job order employees. According to the Civil Service Commission (CSC)-Commission on Audit (COA)-DBM JC No. 1, S. 2017, job orders refer to manual and craft services such as clearing of roads after disasters, carpentry, and plumbing, among others. Government institutions such as state universities may hire job order employees should they require services that are not typically part of the regular functions of the government institution.
It is also important to recognize that the university cannot arbitrarily convert job order positions into plantilla positions. The creation of permanent positions require approval from CSC and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and institutions are not allowed from regularizing workers whose tasks are not classified as essential and permanent under national guidelines (CSC–COA–DBM Joint Circular No. 1, 2017). Even after the position is created, CSC must still approve the appointment under the Administrative Code of 1987 (Book V, Title I, Sec. 12). Any action outside this process can be flagged by COA as an irregular or unauthorized expenditure (Presidential Decree No. 1445, 1978).
But recognizing these legal constraints does not mean we should tolerate or justify a system that keeps long-serving workers in perpetual insecurity. The existence of national regulations should not excuse institutions, like CMU, from advocating reforms or initiating reviews that would push for fairer and more humane employment conditions.
For many job order workers, job security continues to be a huge problem as public agencies are not mandated to regularize them. Moreover, according to the COA and CSC, they are non-government workers, meaning that they cannot enjoy the incentives of regular government workers such as Representation and Transportation Allowances (RATA), PhilHealth, and retirement provisions.
While CMU’s hiring of job order employees legally aligns with the mandate of the COA and CSC, the negative implications of keeping a worker for more so many years without securing them a plantilla position still remain. These workers are temporary on paper, with contracts renewed annually. To keep someone in that status for that long reflects a systematic failure—it shows how CMU relies on a person’s labor for decades without granting them the stability, dignity, and rights that should come with long-term service.
In Mr. Jose Quion’s case, his responsibilities appear to be recurring, essential, and long-term, which raises the question of why his role was never reviewed for possible reclassification. If his duties were integral to daily operations, then the nature of his work could actually meet the characteristics of a permanent position under CSC standard.
The respect job order workers earned in gestures is praised publicly, yet the security he and so many others like him deserved never materialized. Handshakes and acknowledgments cannot replace the dignity that comes from being treated fairly. Decades of work cannot be reduced to temporary status or fleeting recognition. CMU should not just focus on his dedication, loyalty, and sacrifice. It should also be responsible enough to honor service with stability, because workers need real protections, not just a piece of paper, a photo-op, and a polished facade masking a deeper labor injustice.
The romanticization of Mr. Quion’s dedication through a now-deleted Facebook post blatantly shows how insensitive and tone-deaf some can be to the plight of workers like him. CMU’s commitment to excellence becomes a shallow illusion of the school’s real image when it does not show commitment to securing the jobs of many of its workers. The fact that this is happening shows that the institution can avoid treating some of its employees as significant members of the workforce through legal loopholes. For years, despite the issue of the regularization of long-time job order employees in government agencies, reforms that attempt to change this have yet to be approved.
The situation is not isolated to CMU. Across state universities and colleges in the Philippines, thousands of long-serving job order and contract-of-service workers face similar insecurity due to slow-moving national policy reforms and limited budget allocations for new plantilla positions (COA Annual Audit Report, 2022). Thus, it is time for government institutions that depend on the services of long-time job order workers to provide security for these individuals. A worker who has devoted years is not temporary nor just be for renewal. Those who hold their places longer than most policies should not live under constant uncertainty. Mr. Quion is just one of the many examples of employees who are constantly taken advantage of despite their efforts.
Recognition is right, but such a thing alone is not enough. This is not a story about loyalty, but a system that relies on committed workers but refuses to protect them. A man who carried the daily progress of an institution deserves more than symbolic gestures. He and many others in his position deserve justice, stability, benefits, and regularization.
“32 years later, he’s still here—not because he had to be, but because his commitment ran deeper than a paycheck.” Of course, it does. That’s why we demand stronger labor policies that come with fair compensation, protection, and stability, not a Facebook post and a piece of paper.
32 years of service should not end with a maybe. What job order workers truly deserve is stability while they are still here to experience it. It is time for institutions to end the cycle of job order contracts and commit to regularizing long-serving workers who have already proven themselves. Speak up and stand with laborers whose dedication deserves more than a tribute: a real policy change.
𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚:
𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵, & 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. (2017, 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 15). 𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘰. 1, 𝘴. 2017: 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 [𝘗𝘋𝘍]. 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘥𝘣𝘮.𝘨𝘰𝘷.𝘱𝘩/𝘸𝘱-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵/𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴/𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴/2017/𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵%20𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳/𝘊𝘚𝘊-𝘊𝘖𝘈-𝘋𝘉𝘔%20𝘑𝘖𝘐𝘕𝘛%20𝘊𝘐𝘙𝘊𝘜𝘓𝘈𝘙%20𝘕𝘖.%201%20%281%29.𝘱𝘥𝘧
𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵, & 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. (2018, 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 9). 𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘰. 1, 𝘴. 2018: 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘚𝘊‑𝘊𝘖𝘈‑𝘋𝘉𝘔 𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘰. 1, 𝘴. 2017 [𝘗𝘋𝘍]. 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘥𝘣𝘮.𝘨𝘰𝘷.𝘱𝘩/𝘸𝘱-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵/𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴/𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴/2018/𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵%20𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳/𝘊𝘚𝘊-𝘊𝘖𝘈-𝘋𝘉𝘔-𝘑𝘖𝘐𝘕𝘛-𝘊𝘐𝘙𝘊𝘜𝘓𝘈𝘙-𝘕𝘖-1-𝘴-2018.𝘱𝘥𝘧
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵. (𝘯.𝘥.). 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦/𝘑𝘰𝘣 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘤𝘰𝘢.𝘨𝘰𝘷.𝘱𝘩/𝘸𝘱-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵/𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴/𝘈𝘉𝘊-𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱/𝘝𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴_𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯/𝘢26.𝘩𝘵𝘮
𝘌𝘟𝘌𝘊𝘜𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌 𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘕𝘖. 292 – 𝘛𝘏𝘌 “𝘈𝘋𝘔𝘐𝘕𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌 𝘊𝘖𝘋𝘌 𝘖𝘍 1987” – 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘌-𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺. (𝘯.𝘥.). 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺.𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺.𝘨𝘰𝘷.𝘱𝘩/𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘧/𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘴/5/53270
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. (1978). 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘕𝘰. 1445: 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘨𝘱𝘱𝘣.𝘨𝘰𝘷.𝘱𝘩/𝘸𝘱-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵/𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴/2023/06/𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭-𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘕𝘰.-1445.𝘱𝘥𝘧